Snow White
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Shirayuki finds out the true meaning of her namesake. And Zen helps ;3


**I just can NOT get enough of this couple! ^^ Love 'em! Just a quicky I came up with one day :3 Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Akagami no Shirayukihime :(**

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**Snow White

Shirayuki let out an exhausted sigh, though her emerald eyes were full of accomplishment as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

She was in her room and had just completed her workload for the day, organizing her paperwork and medicinal research and documents of the new plants that were sprouting in the gardens. _I never expected that being a pharmacist would be so much work! _She thought to herself.

Just then, a knock came on her door, and Shirayuki rolled her eyes but smiled, knowing all too well who it was. "Yes, Zen?" she called out over her shoulder, holding back a small giggle. Taking her voice as a sign to enter, the second prince of Clarines slammed the door open a little too hard and the girl jumped.

"Shirayuki, are you finished yet?" His voice was worried and his eyebrows were furrowed. "You've been working so hard all week. You should take a break from time to time and get some rest. It's not good for your health." He walked into the room, scolding her like a concerned doctor.

"You're acting like I haven't slept or eaten all week." Shirayuki laughed. "It's not like I've been doing nothing but work 24/7 you know. You don't have to worry so much." She reassured him."I am a bit tired now though," she admitted. But as soon as she saw the anxiety in his gaze she quickly went on. "But there's a meeting later this evening for all the pharmacists and I don't want to be late. I'm going to rest for a while until then, so can you wake me before the meeting if I don't get up myself?" she asked. "If that's too much trouble, then that's fine, I'll just stay awake until-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Zen held up his hands. "Of course you can trust me to do something like that." He grinned. "I'm not so busy that I can't help out my best friends." He promised.

Shirayuki felt a blush coming on, so to cover it up, she bowed to him.

"Thank you so much!"

"No need to be so formal!" he chuckled. "We've known each other for long enough now." Then, he perked up as though he had remembered something. "Ah, that's right I wanted to ask you…" he trailed off, a bit uncertain now that he thought about what he wanted to say.

"Yes? What is it?" The girl asked, sitting down on her bed as trying to hold back her feelings of fatigue.

"Do…do you know what your name means?" Zen finally asked.

"Eh? My name?" Shirayuki straightened up and her eyes widened in shock. "Where did _that _come from all of a sudden?"

"Well you see," he began. "This morning, I was in the library just flipping through some books because I was waiting for a conference to begin, and I came across a book of…of…" he hesitated again.

"Yes?" She prompted.

"It was about stories." He decided.

"A book? About stories? No way." Shirayuki laughed.

Zen pouted but then went on. "Fairytales, if you will." The look that Shirayuki was giving him told him that she had absolutely no clue where he was going with this whole story and he quickly continued before he appeared foolish in front of her. "Just…after reading a few excerpts of it, I came upon some stories about princesses." Shirayuki tried her best to listen attentively and not appear as confused as she felt as he continued. "Your name means 'snow white', which was the name of one of those princesses in the stories."

Shirayuki found herself becoming less and less puzzled and more interested.

"Really?" she murmured. "I knew what my name meant, but I never knew there was that kind of scenario as well. How curious…" Then she laughed. "Too bad it doesn't make much sense. It's not like I like the snow any more than an average person or anything like that. And _surely_ it's not because of my hair." She added.

"No doubt about that." The prince chuckled. "But she was a princess." He went on, his voice distant, as though he could imagine such a fairytale unfolding right before his eyes. "It was a very complicated story. She had 7 companions, dwarves I believe it was, and there was a witch after her as well. Apparently, she gave the princess some…poison apples to put her to sleep, before she was woken-"

But he cut off as he heard a small gasp come from the girl on the bed. Shirayuki blinked at him and wondered if he was thinking the same thing, and his deep, dark eyes confirmed her conviction.

They both remembered the poisonous apples that arrived in a basket when they had first met. They had been meant for Shirayuki, yet Zen had so selflessly taken the blow for her. Guilt swept over her as she remembered reading about how he had made himself immune to so many different poisons and she felt sick when she recalled all she had read about him.

Zen sensed her discomfort and silently walked over and sat down beside her, placing his hand on top of hers. "All in all," he went on gently. "It was a good story." He beamed at her in an attempt to raise her spirits once more. She let a small smile cross her lips and she glanced up at him gratefully.

"Now." He said softly. "Since I've finished enlightening you with my childish stories," She laughed lightly. "How about you get some rest?"

"Don't mind if I do." She sighed in relief at the thought of just relaxing for a short while before getting back to work later that evening.

"I'll leave you then and come back to wake you up at sunset." He promised.

Giving her a small grin, he squeezed her hand, offering her some comfort and stood slowly to his feet. Shirayuki followed him with her eyes, a weak smile showing on her face, as she felt the warmth evaporate from her hand. He headed for the door and turned back to her. "Sweet dreams." He grinned before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Shirayuki sat there a moment longer, waiting for her lightheadedness to die down but when it did not, she slid off her boots and swung her legs up onto her bed.

She did not even bother to get under the sheets, for by the time she laid down on her side and curled up, her eyes were already heavily closed and she was out like a light in seconds.

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The sunset was not far off when Zen returned to Shirayuki's room.

He was still a bit early, but though he wanted to let her rest, he knew she might be upset if she was even a second late to the meeting.

He knocked lightly on her door and called out her name, but received no response, so he carefully opened the door and tiptoed in.

Warm, golden sunlight washed through the window, illuminating the wooden floorboards and making them appear as light as milk chocolate. The window was open, allowing a cool breeze to enter the room along with the scent of freshly bloomed flowers and pollen.

Shirayuki was sleeping on her side with her back facing him, her side rising and falling slowly.

Zen made his way over to her bedside and reached for her shoulder. He hated to have to wake her up like this, but he would be sure to make her get a good night's sleep as soon as this meeting was over.  
"Shirayuki." He whispered, leaning over her. "Sorry, but it's time to get up." When she still did not stir, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently rolled her over onto her back. "Oy. Wake up." He repeated, his voice a bit louder than a whisper now, but not harsh enough to wake her with a start. "Shira-"he was about to say her name once more when he got a good look at her face.

Her eyebrows were slanted downward as though something was troubling her, even in her sleep. Her mouth was slightly open and her breath was shallow and at times, choked. Zen gazed down at her in dismay. _For how long has she been sleeping like this?_ He wondered. _It's no surprise she's looked so enervated lately. _

He stared down at her for a moment longer, running his fingers through her soft, apple-red hair all the way to the ends where he stopped and rested his hand on her shoulder. He shook her gently once more yet she remained still. _When was the last time she actually _slept_? She's so tired…_

He felt awful having to wake her up. He was considering going to the pharmacist meeting himself and telling them of Shirayuki's situation, but if she found out she would be distraught for not attending and for making him worry so much.

So instead, he decided to try a different method.

He twirled his fingers through her tresses with one hand as he placed the other on the bed to the side of her body.

He then leaned over her slowly and kissed her gently.

It only lasted a few seconds but it was not too short either. Her eyes blinked open slowly just as the prince pulled away and their gazes met. Shirayuki blinked again, wondering whether or not this was all still a dream or not, but the fading warmth on her lips was proof enough for her.

Zen gazed down at her with a small smirk on his face as the girl's eyes nearly doubled in size.

"Ah…Zen…" she fumbled for words, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks like never before. "You…"

"_I_," Zen cut her off softly. "Never finished telling you the end of that story right? "

"N…No…" she glanced away, aware of his arms on either side of her body, pinning her down intangibly though not physically.

"Once the princess was poisoned, she fell into a deep sleep." He murmured, his eyes shining. "She was only woken by the kiss of the prince." He finished. Zen removed his arms and sat on the edge of her bed, and offered the baffled girl his hand. Shirayuki gazed up at him from where she lie, her breathing a bit faster than usual as she tried to calm her racing heart.

Gingerly, she raised her hand and slid it into his palm and he gently tugged on her wrist and pulled her up into a sitting position. Shirayuki sighed inwardly as the soft pillow disappeared from beneath her head , but Zen put an arm around her shoulders and let her lean on his own instead. She decided that feeling embarrassed was not going to do either of them any good.

And besides, she rather liked being woken up that way.

She let her eyes close for a brief moment as she exhaled, nestling into his shoulder.

"You know, Shirayuki hime-sama," he teased and she opened her eyes with a start. "If you're not feeling well-"

"Oh! The meeting!" Quickly, she flung her legs off her bed and slid on her boots as Zen blinked in bewilderment. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble Zen. Thank you so much for waking me!" she huffed, fumbling with the buckles on her boots.

"Hold up! Why are you apologizing to me?" he asked. "And let me finish speaking. If you're not feeling well, you should just stay here and get some rest."

"Who ever said I was feeling unwell?" she queried. "I'm fine." She beamed up at him reassuringly with a smile that was hard to doubt.

"Well anyway," he went on. "Once you get back I want you to go right to sleep again. You would hardly wake up, even from a light nap."

"I-I'm just a heavy sleeper." She could not keep herself from stuttering and bit her tongue.

"Well then," Zen tilted her chin up to him and looked down into her eyes. "I guess I'll just have to wake you up that way every time, Hime-sama." He smirked. "Do you object?"

"Even if I did," she sighed. "Would that stop you?"

"Probably not."

"I see." She smirked as well. "Then I guess I have no point in arguing."

"Good." He nodded in satisfaction. "But just to make sure you're fully awake…" he leaned down and kissed her once more, letting this one last much longer than the last.

They both closed their eyes and melted into each other until the pesky little entity known as oxygen got in their way. Zen pulled back just as Shirayuki burst out into gasps, her face flushed as almost as red as her hair. He chuckled and ran his fingers through her locks once more. "Come now. You'll be late! Which is precisely the situation that we were trying to avoid!"

"Would the prince escort me there?" she asked coyly.

Zen smirked and offered her his arm which she accepted with a smile. "Why of course, Shirayuki Hime-sama."

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**A/N: I actually wanted to do a multi-chapter fic about princesses for this pairing, but this one just popped up first so if I ever get the time this summer I'll write that other one ;3**

**Pleeease review!**


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